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Liberty County downs Seahawks in playoff opener
This story has been modified from an earlier version to indicate that Franklin County remains in the playoffs..
The Liberty County Bulldogs threw a surprise curve ball to the Franklin County Seahawk softball team’s playoff hopes Tuesday night in Port St. Joe, with an 8-1 win in the 1A District tournament.
The Bulldogs erupted with five runs in the top of the seventh to ice a game in which they were leading 3-1 going into the final stanza.
The two teams had each scored once in the first inning, and Liberty County had added runs in the third and fifth.
Bulldog sophomore Kallan Mercer held the Seahawks to six hits, and struck out two and walked two in pitching a complete game.
Seahawk freshman Ryan Brown hit a spair of singles, and scored the team’s lone run, driven in by freshman Sarah Ham.
Ham had struck out 11 in pitching a complete game, and gave uo five earned runs on seven hits.
The loss puts the Seahawk season record at 12-10. It does not, however, end the team’s playoff hopes.
Coach Scott Collins that while the Seahawks no longer have a shot at the district title, their ranking as #9 in the Florida High School Athletic Association state rankings means that the team is likely to make the regional playoffs, which begin next week.
The FHSAA uses a computer ranking system to determine the two at-large slots for teams in the region. Collins said the determination of who advances will be based on these rankings after Thursday’s district championship game.
Wewahitchka, which defeated Bozeman Tuesday night, now squares off against Liberty County Thursday for the district title. Both teams will advance to regionals.
Graceville and Chipley play for the other district title.
Meet the Editor
David Adlerstein, The Apalachicola Times’ digital editor, started with the news outlet in January 2002 as a reporter.
Prior to then, David Adlerstein began as a newspaperman with a small Boston weekly, after graduating magna cum laude from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. He later edited the weekly Bellville Times, and as business reporter for the daily Marion Star, both not far from his hometown of Columbus, Ohio.
In 1995, he moved to South Florida, and worked as a business reporter and editor of Medical Business newspaper. In Jan. 2002, he began with the Apalachicola Times, first as reporter and later as editor, and in Oct. 2020, also began editing the Port St. Joe Star.